The Cloisters Museum

The Cloisters is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that is features art and architecture from medievel Europe. The museum is nested inside Fort Tryon park which has beautiful views of the Hudson river. For those interested in exploring different parts of NYC, I would definitely recommend a trip up to the Cloisters. It is quite far uptown (but easily accessible via M4 bus or A train).  In fact I hardly remember the last time I traveled up to 190th Street on the West Side. While we visited the museum during the warmer weekends in March, I am looking forward to visiting again in the spring when the trees and grass are green! Perfect for picnicing and avoiding the Central Park crowds!

Here is a view of the Cloisters as we were approaching up the hill. The heavy wooden doors and stone staircases fit into the medievel theme. Everything reminded me of a monastery until I saw the group of people sunbathing in various stages of dress on the lawn...

And here are some of my favorite parts of the museum with the beautiful arches:

My favorite room in the Cloisters is the unicorn room featuring wall to wall tapestries of magical unicorns. I think I could just sit in this room for a long time. My second favorite room is the Throne Room (no picture available) where it featured many expensive and exquisite jewels.

Gift bag from prettycity night at Salon Ziba

As I posted last night about the prettycity event at Salon Ziba, the event was a great success for the salon and all attendees. My favorite party about attending beauty events is usually the gift bag that is usually full of sponsored products and other samples. And this time, it did not disappoint! And believe me, I know events that have given out less interesting and useful products. Here is a picture and a list of the products.

Starting from the left:

L'Oreal Professional Shampoo
Ziba Salon Dry Shampoo
L'Oreal Professional Absolut Repair
Revlon Lashes
Moroccan oil treatment
Mirabella Semi-Precious Marble Blush
Palmer's Coconut Oil Protein Pack
Cafe Bustelo Expresso Coffee

I am very excited to try out all the products especially the Salon Ziba's brand of dry shampoo. I think it would be very useful for those in-between wash days when I am super busy and/or tired to get up early to wash my hair. And I'm also looking forward to trying the Mirabella blush - it reminds me of the Prescriptive blush products. Lastly, the expresso coffee is a bit of an odd product to be included in the gift bag - but perhaps they think that women need to drink coffee to stay energized? I'll have to keep pondering that thought.

In the meantime, feel free to comment on any of these products. Which one should I try first??

Prettycity Event at Salon Ziba

I attended a pretty awesome prettycity beauty event last night at Salon Ziba! For those in the know, prettycity is a website that recommends products, services and places for all things beauty! And the event featured a joint collaboration with Salon Ziba in which guests can sign up to receive a night of pampering salon treatments!

I received the invitation for the event through a friend but it was actually advertised through a popular women's magazine. The 200 guest slots were filled up pretty quickly but luckily a few of my friends were able to sign up right away! I expected a lot of people to attend but I think the event coordinators were very good at controlling the size of the crowd. While I arrived 15 minutes after the event time started, there were only 20 guests in front of me.

As I entered the salon, I was impressed with the size of the salon and the organized sections for food, drinks and salon treatments. The sales and marketing employees were very welcoming and friendly. However the make-up artists looked bored and uninviting. But that was the only negative part of the evening. I found the other staff members quite cordial and open with sharing their professional advice on hair and nails.

The salon treatments were performed gratis by the professional staff members which included make-up application, dry hair styling and manicures. In addition, we were treated to Sweet Sunshine cupcakes and cookies, and apple/soju drinks (yum!).

Here are three different styles of hairstyles that were done on my friends:

The first is a fairly extensive up-do that can be worn to weddings and other fancy events! I was fairly impressed with the amount of time spent by the hairdresser on her hair.

Here are some large beautiful curls that were done with a straightening iron!

And lastly, here are some small gentle waves created with a large barrel curling iron.

Stay tuned for pictures of the products in the swag bag!!

The Orchid Show

The weather is now a bit warmer in NYC but the flowers and trees have still yet to bloom. However why wait to enjoy the beautiful blossoms of the spring when you can enjoy it now at the New York Botanical Garden? Earlier this month, I went to the Bronx to visit the NYBG's newest exhibit: The Orchid Show - Cuba in Flowers.

While the rest of the garden was cold and dreary, the main event was clearly inside the greenhouse. We walked in and was immediately greeted by the sweet floral scent of orchids. The air was warm and the crowds of people made the room even hotter. But this was clearly not a problem for the visitors, since we were all entranced by all the different colored orchids.

Take out your cameras, people! Sadly, I only have a point-n-shoot camera but there were many professional cameras and lenses that day.

I don't know the names of all the flowers, but the last picture is my favorite flower. The yellow and burgundy red contrast is amazing. And the shape of the flower makes it look like a sundress! Can you just image a woman rocking it out in this outfit? From afar, it looks like dancing ladies!!

Here are some tips for those that wish to go to the NYBG: Bring your own food/snacks! There is a cafe open but we did not go inside to purchase anything. Instead, many visitors brought their own food and sat in the open chairs and tables. I can imagine it is a lovely place for a picnic! And make sure you purchase a ticket that will get you to ride the tram! It is a 20 minute tour ride of the entire garden. You can hop on and off the tram or simply sit through the entire ride to enjoy the scenery.

There are many new exhibitis and upcoming sections to the garden that will open later this year and in 2011. I look forward to going back in the spring time!